The head of the Protestant Church in Germany, Annette Kurschus, who is suspected of covering up sexual violence, announced her resignation on Monday to avoid tarnishing the institution’s image.
Kurschus was informed of allegations of assault against a former colleague in the 1990s but took no action, according to German newspaper Siegener Zeitung.
The suspect is now being investigated by police and the exact nature of the attacks has not yet been disclosed, according to the French agency AFP.
Kurschus, 60 years old, denied knowledge of the attacks but decided to resign “to avoid image [da Igreja Protestante] be defiled.”
“The suspicions concern a man whose family I have been friends with for a long time,” Kurschus said at a press conference in Bielefeld (north).
He explained that he only realized “the defendant’s homosexuality and marital infidelity” and wanted to protect his family, but the public debate about the trial reached such a point that he saw no other alternative but to resign.
Kurschus said he has never tried to avoid responsibility, hide facts or cover up a defendant.
“25 years ago, I wish I had been as attentive, trained and sensitive to the behavioral issues I am being warned about today,” she said.
According to German television MDR, Annette Kurschus has not only led the Protestant Church in Germany, but also resigned as president of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia.
While the Catholic Church in Germany has struggled with allegations of sexual abuse for years, its Protestant counterpart has largely been spared until now.
A 2018 study commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference concluded that 1,670 members of the country’s Catholic clergy committed some form of sexual assault against 3,677 minors between 1946 and 2014.
However, it is believed that the actual number of victims is much higher.
The maximum limit for damages paid by the German Catholic Church was increased to 50,000 euros in 2020, compared to around 5,000 euros previously, but the associations believe the amount is still insufficient.
In 2022, approximately 28 million euros worth of payments were approved.
Source: DN
